Meyer has explained to fans that she originally envisioned "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner" – which deals with a character introduced in "Eclipse," the third book of the "Twilight" series – as part of "The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide." But eventually the 192-page book developed a life of its own.

The marketing of the new book will be interesting. Hardcover copies will go on sale at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, June 5 – with e-book sales beginning a few hours later at 6 a.m. But as a gift to her fans, Meyer is also making "Bree" available free of charge at breetanner.com, from June 7 to July 5.

At the same time, however, PC Tools has issued a "malware warning." According to the Examiner, "PC Tools predicts that once the novella is available, cybercriminals will distribute it through Twilight fan sites and searches as a 'Poisoned PDF.' They will exploit the online searches to find ways to infect computers with malware and new threats. Eager fans searching for early sneak peeks will also be targeted."